President Barack Obama faced perhaps the worst job approval numbers of his presidency in a new Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday afternoon.
American voters disapprove of the job he’s doing by a margin of 54 to 39 percent — up from a 49-45 percent disapproval on Oct. 1, according to the same poll. It’s the first time his approval rating has dipped below 40 percent. His lowest score in the ongoing Quinnipiac survey was a 55-41 percent disapproval on Oct. 6, 2011.
“President Obama’s job approval rating has fallen to the level of former President George W. Bush at the same period of his Presidency,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
The president faces net disapproval among men (58-37 percent), independents (63-30 percent), white voters (62-32 percent), senior citizens (59-36 percent) and even women (51-40 percent) and Hispanic voters (47-41 percent). Democrats and black voters continue to strongly approve, 79-14 percent and 75-15 percent, respectively.
The botched rollout of Obamacare since Oct. 1 looms large in the poll drop, raising the stakes in the White House’s pledge to fix the problems by the end of the month.
“American voters are divided 46 – 47 percent on whether Obama ‘knowingly deceived’ the public when he said people could keep their existing health insurance plans if they wished,” the Quinnipiac poll found. “Voters also support 73 – 20 percent extending the March 31, 2014 deadline for signing up for coverage without facing a penalty.”
In six weeks, the share of American voters who said Obama was “honest and trustworthy” dipped 10 points, from 54 to 44 percent. In the same time period, there was a five percent drop (from 53 to 48 percent) among voters who said the president has “strong leadership qualities.” Voters disapprove of his handling of health care by a 60-36 percent margin.
